The fantastic tale of an 18th century aristocrat, his talented
henchmen and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from
defeat by the Turks. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a
trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim
Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures.

I had heard how bad this film was supposed to be. It was reviled by
fans of the original series of animated shorts. Movie critics panned
the film (once they were allowed to see it; it wasn’t pre-screened).
I was ready to agree when I caught it on cable TV.

But I liked it. It’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s not bad at all.
Never having seen the animated series, I wasn’t biased in any existing
direction. I can understand the disappointment of true fans, but a
feature film is a different medium from experimental shorts. The
story may be too high-concept, complex, and serious for the typical
“SF action” fan. The action is cool, but there’s not enough of it to
call this an action movie. The story is hard SF with ideas, set in a
utopian/dystopian future.

Aeon Flux is a highly-trained assassin working for a group of
rebels trying to overthrow the government of a future “utopia”.
Sent on a mission to kill the Chairman, a clue from her
forgotten past is revealed and the true nature of her world is
revealed.

Alien is great horror/SF, and Aliens is great action/SF. The third
and fourth films don’t really compare, but it’s nice to have them for
completeness. (I don’t know about AVP; haven’t seen it yet.) And
we’ll just overlook the fact that “quadrilogy” isn’t even a real word
(“tetralogy” is correct, if awkward).

Each of the Alien films has a theatrical version and an alternate or
“director’s cut”. Runtimes and some ratings differ between the two
versions. The information for the two versions is shown
slash-separated, as “theatrical/alternate”.

Format:

anamorphic widescreen

Edition:

“Alien Quadrilogy” boxed set (9 discs)

Features:

2 discs per film: disc 1 contains the films with
commentaries, and disc 2 contains featurettes and extras.
Plus there’s an extra disk with a documentary, a Q&A with
Ridley Scott, and archives.

When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth,
intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are
under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the
planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area.
At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown
creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a
warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is
disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it
is too late.

The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep
sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is
taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded
on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After
contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to
the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the
alien menace forever, and saving any survivors—if any
remain.

After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ellen
Ripley crashes onto a remote prison colony. While awaiting
rescue, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for her crash:
an alien stowaway. As the alien matures and begins to kill off
the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her true enemy is more
than just the killer alien.

The discovery of an ancient pyramid buried in Antarctica sends
a team of scientists and adventurers to the frozen continent.
There, they make an even more terrifying discovery: two alien
races engaged in an all-out war.

In 1781 Vienna, court composer Antonio Salieri is maddened with
envy after discovering that the divine musical gifts he desires
for himself have been bestowed on he bawdy impish Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, whom he plots to destroy by any means necessar.

It’s a rainy night on the moors of northern England. Two
American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the
next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly
howl... Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the
hospital, and the nightmare begins.

After an errant satellite crashes to Earth near a remote New
Mexico village, the recovery team discovers that almost
everyone in the town are victims of a horrible death, with the
mysterious exception of an infant and an old homeless man. The
survivors are brought to a state-of-the-art laboratory,
descending five stories beneath the ground where the puzzled
scientists race against time to determine the nature of the
deadly microbe before it wreaks worldwide havoc.

Drawn to a pair of lights in the barren American desert sky, a
mysterious German woman, Jasmin, stumbles upon a dilapidated
motel/diner in the middle of nowhere. Her unusual appearance
and demeanor are at first suspicious to Brenda, the exasperated
owner who has difficulty making ends meet.

Tragic and comic; the last minute pays for all. An excellent
soundtrack by Peter Gabriel consists of instrumental versions of songs
from his 3rd & 4th solo albums.

Released:

1984

Genre:

drama/war

Format:

anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen

Runtime:

2h

Rating:

R/MPAA

Director:

Alan Parker

Screenplay:

Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr, based on the novel by William
Wharton

Starring:

Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage

Plot:

Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam war. One
of them has always been obsessed with birds—but now
believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental
hospital. His friend tries help him pull through.

I saw it in the theater in 1982, and from the first scene, the “Hades”
flyover with Vangelis’ music, I was blown away.

It’s very different in plot details from Philip K. Dick’s novel, but
it captures the essence very well (unlike most other PKD adaptations).

My copy of the “Director’s Cut” was a gift from Mayumi, spring 2003.
My “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” (“limited edition gift set”: a
briefcase containing a model spinner, a plastic origami unicorn, a
motion film clip, and an art folio) was a gift from Mayumi, Christmas
2007.

Jake, an unemployed actor is asked to house-sit a luxurious
hillside home, equipped with a telescope through which he can
spy on a neighbor’s arousing striptease. Jake discovers
another man is also spying on her, but with murderous aims.

A pair of brilliant researchers develop a system to record and
play back people’s actual experiences and sensations. They
fight the corruption of their invention while exploring the
limits of human experience.

Why? I came into this game for the action, the
excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get
out, wherever there’s trouble, a man alone. Now
they got the whole country sectioned off. You
can’t make a move without a form.

When top-notch cyclist Dave learns that the world’s cycling
champions are always Italian, he attempts to turn himself into
an Italian, driving his parents crazy. But everything changes
after he meets the Italian racing team—an encounter that
ultimately leads him and his friends to challenge the local
college boys in the town’s annual bike race.

An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can’t seem
to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car, a
foreign government becomes interested in it, and resorts to
skullduggery to get their hands on it.

Stylized, dark (sometimes comedic), disturbing, brilliant, and well
worth seeing. The uncensored version is definitely superior to the
R-rated theatrical cut, but it’s interesting to contrast them and
recognize the hypocrisy of the ratings boards, especially the MPAA.

Released:

1984

Genre:

drama/romance/thriller

Format:

anamorphic widescreen

Runtime:

1h52m

Rating:

unrated

Edition:

“Unrated. Uncensored.”

Features:

commentary, deleted scenes

Director:

Ken Russell

Screenplay:

Barry Sandler

Starring:

Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, John Laughlin, Bruce Davison

Plot:

A sportswear designer leads a double life as a hooker named
China Blue.

A genetically enhanced superhuman prototype named Max escapes
from a military lab and dwells among the street people of a
post-apocalyptic future Seattle to avoid government agents who
want to capture her. Searching for others of her kind, Max
encounters and joins forces with Logan, an idealistic
cyber-journalist battling repression and corruption.

When John Murdoch awakens in a strange hotel room, he finds
that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem
is he can’t remember a thing. Pursued by the police and
haunted by the mysterious Strangers, he seeks to unravel the
twisted riddle of his identity.

A dragon leaves the kingdom alone, as long as it receives
regular sacrifices of maidens. An old wizard and his keen
young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to
save the next virgin in line: the King’s daughter.

A deep and worthy rendition of Frank Herbert’s classic SF novel. Its
story is far superior to the 1984 David Lynch adaptation; the story
changes required by the dramatic medium (both additions and omissions)
are quite reasonable and make sense. At almost 5 hours, it may be too
long for non-fans though.

David Lynch’s 1984 Dune was
an interesting failure. Although it boasted a first-rate cast,
sumptuous visuals and interesting ideas, it was far too short, leaving
much of the story untold or awkwardly altered. Some of the
changes/additions made for Lynch’s Dune are wonderful (heart-plugs
and the Baron Harkonnen’s boils!), but others are obnoxious (“a
technique involving sound”?!?). Unfortunately, it was little more
than “great scenes from the book on film”, and unintelligible unless
you’ve read the novel.

In the distant future, the planet Arrakis—Dune—is
the only source of the “spice” which gives whomever controls it
dominion over commerce and civilization. By way of an ancient
prophecy, a young man realizes his destiny as Dune’s messiah
and leads a rebellion against the corrupt galactic empire and
forever changes the balance of power.

In order to end wars and maintain peace, mankind has outlawed
the things that trigger emotion: literature, music, and art. A
special breed of police is assigned to eliminate all
transgressors. But when the top enforcer misses a dose of an
emotion-blocking drug, he begins to realize that things are not
as they seem.

In 1997 (!) Manhattan Island is a maximum security prison, with
no law, rules, or guards. Breaking out is impossible. When
the US President crash lands there, Snake Plissken, a recently
convicted bank robber sentenced to Manhattan for life, is
offered his freedom in echange for a rescue.

One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives
in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown
Chicago with his girl and his best friend. They see the
signts, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little
ingenuity, a bit of courage and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can
be a joy!

When Nemo, a young clownfish, is unexpectedly carried far from
home, his overprotective father, Marlin, and Dory, a friendly
but forgetful regal blue tang fish, embark on an epic journey
that leads to encounters with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude
turtles, hypnotic jellyfish and hungry seagulls.

Charles Edward Pogue & David Cronenberg, based on a story
by George Langelaan

Starring:

Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz

Plot:

An over-ambitious scientist conducting a teleportation
experiement accidentally merges with a housefly. A journalist
who has fallen in love with him while covering his scientific
endeavors suddenly finds herself caring for a horrifying
creature whose insect half gradually begins to take over.

Mick Garris, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, & Frank Darabont,
based on characters created by George Langelaan

Starring:

Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz,
Harley Cross

Plot:

Beneath his ordinary exterior, Martin is the most extraordinary
person alive. Though only five years old, he is a genious, a
fully matured adult, and the son of a human fly! Now it is
only a matter of time before his mutated genes waken from their
dormant state.

Funny, sad, original, and gorgeously shot, this is one of the rare
instances of a movie being better than the source novel. I first saw
this on a tiny LCD on a flight over the Pacific, which didn’t do it
justice. When I later visited Hong Kong on business, I was lucky to
find it still playing in a theater. The vistas are amazing. Gotta
get me a big screen TV for this one some day...

Released:

1994

Genre:

drama/comedy

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

2h21m

Rating:

PG

Edition:

“Special Collector’s Edition” (2 discs)

Features:

commentaries, documentaries

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Screenplay:

Eric Roth from the novel by Winston Groom

Starring:

Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson,
Sally Field

Plot:

Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been
present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny,
eludes him.

A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the
first time — in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back
to his people, and they use it for many tasks. The people
start to fight over it, so he decides to return it to the God
— where he thinks it came from. Meanwhile, we are introduced
to a school teacher assigned to a small village, a despotic
revolutionary, and a clumsy biologist.

Xixo’s children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving
poachers’ truck, unable to get off, and Xixo sets out to rescue
them. Along the way, he encounters a couple of soldiers trying
to capture each other and a pilot and passenger of a small
plane, who are each having a few problems of their own.

An experimental double-feature in the style of 70’s "grindhouse"
films. The theatrical presentation included trailers of other
(nonexistant) grindhouse films, two of which (Machete and Hobo With
a Shotgun) were subsequently made and released.

A man finds he is given more than he bargains for when he
solves the puzzle of the Lamont Configuration: a doorway to
hell. But his ex-lover has found a way of bringing him back,
and his niece finds herself bargaining with the Cenobites,
angels to some, demons to others, whose greatest pleasure is
the greatest pain.

The head of a psychiatric prison who meddles with a satanic
puzzle cube unleashes a cabal of pain-seeking demons who
terrorize his daughter. The girl must find a way to solve the
puzzle and force the demons back to hell after a series of
victims fall victim to the cube’s power.

An L.A. police detective and an FBI agent join forces to hunt
down those responsible for a series of bizarre crimes. The
problem is, the serial robberies and murders are being
committed by seemingly ordinary citizens. What’s the
connection?

A seemingly B-horror flick that rose to A-level thanks to some
excellent performances. Rutger Hauer gives a subtle, nuanced, and
insidious performace as one of the best villains in cinematic history.
But skip the sequel — it sucks.

Released:

1986

Genre:

action/horror/thriller

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

1h38m

Rating:

R

Director:

Robert Harmon

Screenplay:

Eric Red

Starring:

C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Jeffrey DeMunn

Plot:

A young man transporting a car to another state is stalked
along the road by a cunning and relentless serial killer who
eventually frames the driver for a string of murders. Chased by
police and shadowed by the killer, the driver’s only help comes
from a truck stop waitress.

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is
divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young
representatives from each district are selected by lottery to
participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal
retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are
broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to
eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are
required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim,
is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss
volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta,
are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom
have trained for this their whole lives.

In exchange for extraordinary powers, Doctor Parnassus makes a
deal with the Devil to turn over any child of his when they turn
sixteen. But as his daughter’s birthday approaches, a mysterious
stranger arrives with the power tho change everything.

Although the extended action drags a bit in spots, this is one of the
best adaptations of a Philip K. Dick story. It captures the paranoia
and the questioning of identity that infuses phildickian fiction.
Originally shot as a short film for a 3-part anthology.

Dom Cobb leads an “extraction” team, corporate spies who steal
ideas by invading the dreams of their targets. Now they’ve
been tasked with the nearly impossible: “inception”, the
implantation of an idea where the target believes the idea is
their own.

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of
Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen
specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by
scalping and brutally killing Nazis.

Weird, nightmarish, and thought-provoking. The visual style —
special effects done completely optically, in-camera — is original
and stunning. I saw this on the big screen on its opening night, a
Friday, and it was running through my head so much all weekend that I
went to see it again Monday night. You’ll love it or you’ll hate it.
I loved it.

Released:

1990

Genre:

horror/mystery/thriller/drama

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

1h56m

Rating:

18A

Edition:

“Special Edition”

Features:

commentary, documentary, deleted scenes

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Screenplay:

Bruce Joel Rubin

Starring:

Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello

Plot:

A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war
life isn’t what he believes it to be when he’s attacked by
horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit
him.

Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding
rehearsal, The Bride emerges from a coma and decides to seek
revenge on her former colleagues, the Deadly Viper
Assassination Squad (DiVAS).

First we got the action, now we get the story and the dialogue. There
are a few good fights too. I only saw Volume 2 once in the theater,
but I’ve found it has grown on me, and I’ve enjoyed it frequently
since obtaining a copy for my collection.

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces
his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull
Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is
immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow.

With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a “wacky
weatherman” tries to win the heart of an English newspaper
reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world
of early-90s Los Angeles.

Wildly imaginative, but not entirely successful. The scene emulating
Escher’s Relativity is very cool.

Released:

1986

Genre:

family/fantasy/adventure/musical

Format:

anamorphic widescreen

Runtime:

1h41m

Rating:

PG

Features:

documentary

Director:

Jim Henson

Screenplay:

Terry Jones & Elaine May; story by Dennis Lee & Jim Henson

Starring:

David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud

Plot:

Sarah, a teen, summons the goblins from her favorite book, the
Labyrinth, to steal her baby half-brother Toby. When the
goblins actually do steal him, she must solve the Goblin King’s
Labyrinth in 13 hours or else Toby will become a goblin.

Philipe Gastone, a thief, escapes from the dungeon at Aquila,
and meets Captain Navarre, who has been hunted by the Bishop’s
men for two years. Navarre and his true love, the Lady
Isabeau, have been cursed by the Bishop to be forever apart.
Navarre insists that Philipe help him re-enter the city to help
him kill the heavily guarded Bishop.

In the Year of the City 2274, humans live in a vast, domed
metropolis, protected from the outside world, ravaged by
nuclear holocaust. In the City, computerized systems provide
all needs and everyone can pursue endless hedonism. Until
Lastday, when all 30-year-olds must submit to Carrousel, with
certain death and the promise of rebirth. The alternative is
to become a Runner and seek out Sanctuary. Logan 5 is a
Sandman who is prematurely forced to become a Runner.

Chris is a once promising high school athlete whose life is
turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to
maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank,
where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist.

In 2074, time travel is controlled by the mob. When they want
to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past,
where a “Looper” hired gun awaits. In 2044 Joe is getting rich and
living large as a Looper, but gets worried when he hears that the
mob is “closing the loops”, sending many Loopers’ future selves
back in time for dispatch.

A wondrous and awe-inspiring adaptation; Peter Jackson & crew really
did the books justice! Taken as a whole, The Lord of the Rings is an
epic of staggering proportions, a single film with a running time of
over eleven hours that has already become a classic. The Extended
Editions, to me, represent the definitive version of the films: more
moments, more character development, more story.

The six discs of documentaries, features, and galleries, in
combination with the multiple commentaries, are simultaneously
entertaining and informative. They could be used as the basis of an
introductory curriculum covering all aspects of the art of filmmaking.

Film versions of beloved books often betray the source material and
aren’t worthy adaptations. I went to see Fellowship the week it
opened, with some trepidation. I was impressed by the prologue and
then delighted by Hobbiton. By the time Gandalf handed his hat and
staff to Bilbo, I fully trusted that the technical and artistic
foundation was sound, and sat back to enjoy the story, vaguely
remembered from when I’d last read the books as a teenager.

(I intentionally refrained from re-reading the books until after I’d
seen all three films, not wanting to spoil the experience with
nit-picking. I’m glad I did, and when I finally did read the books
again, I was impressed by just how much had been incorporated into the
films. Dialogue and details sometimes had to be moved around or mixed
together to fit the medium, but the decision to use so much original
source material was very wise.)

These films are worthy adaptations of the books. They’re labors of
love, and it shows.

The Extended Edition of The Two Towers is essential viewing. The
added scenes (especially the flashback with Boromir, Faramir, and
Denethor) make this a truly satisfying film, as opposeed to the merely
satisfactory theatrical release. The real star of this film is
Gollum, and Gollum’s Song (over the end-titles) is heart-breaking.

Released:

2002

Runtime:

3h42m

Plot:

Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy
the One Ring, guided by Gollum. Their former companions make
new allies, defend Helm’s Deep from attack, and launch an
assault on Isengard with the help of the Ents.

The Extended Edition fills in many pieces missing from the story: the
Voice of Saruman; the Paths of the Dead; the Corsairs of Umbar; more
interaction between Faramir and Denethor; the courage of Merry and
Pippin; the Witch King’s Hour; the Houses of Healing; Frodo and Sam in
the company of orcs; Aragorn and the Palantír; the Mouth of Sauron.
Although not as essential as with The Two Towers, the additions
restore a lot of story and character development to the theatrical
action/adventure.

Released:

2003

Runtime:

4h10m

Plot:

The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle
for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to
destroy the One Ring.

In August 2009, during a vacation visiting Mayumi’s family in Japan,
we stayed at the hotel where this film was shot, the Park Hyatt Tokyo,
a five-star hotel. We spent two nights there while exploring Tokyo
with the kids. We used loyalty points for the stay, which would have
been about $600/night (!) otherwise. Upon returning to Canada, we
felt we just had to get this movie.

Released:

2003

Genre:

comedy/drama/romance

Format:

anamorphic widescreen

Runtime:

1h42m

Rating:

PG

Features:

deleted scenes, featurettes, music video

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Screenplay:

Sofia Coppola

Starring:

Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi

Plot:

A movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected
newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an
unlikely bond.

A detective investigating a double murder receives a key which
opens any door, and opens into a mysterious motel room. From
inside the room, the door opens any door in the real world.
When his daughter becomes lost in the room, the detective has
to track down other objects that are being sought by
individuals and warring groups, while desperately seeking his
daughter’s return.

An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a
mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to
his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for
14,000 years.

Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours
until 250,000 probes discover Zion and destroy it and its
inhabitants. During this, Neo must decide how he can save
Trinity from a dark fate in his dreams.

Another satisfying adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s work, this film
succeeds on all levels. Spielberg has finally made another serious
and successful SF film for adults, the first since 1977’s Close
Encounters of the Third Kind.

Monsters generate their city’s power by scaring children, but
they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by
children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley
find his world disrupted.

A highly original and intelligent, low-budget vampire horror/western cross.
Stunning shot, engaging and complex characters, exciting, and superbly
acted. The music by Tangerine Dream is among their best and stands
alone.

A community of mutant outcasts of varying types and abilities
attempts to escape the attentions of a psychotic serial killer
and redneck vigilantes with the help of a brooding young man
who discovers them.

When her best friend is brutally murdered, teenager Nancy
suspects the killer is a horrifying figure from her dreams.
Convinced that this vicious murderer is stalking her friends
and killing them as they sleep, Nancy races to bring him out of
her dream world before she falls asleep and becomes his next
victim.

You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller
coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted
to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a
ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited,
and so thrilled all together! Some didn’t like it. They went on
the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the
roller coaster. You get more out of it.

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His
brother finds him and helps to pull back his memory of the life
he led before he walked out on his wife and son four years
before. As his memory returns, he makes contact with people
from his past.

A powerful, disturbing, brilliant 90-minute music video of one of
rock’s classic albums.

AKA:

The Wall

Released:

1982

Genre:

drama/music

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

1h35m

Rating:

18A

Edition:

“Deluxe Edition”

Features:

commentary, 2 documentaries, extras

Director:

Alan Parker

Screenplay:

Roger Waters

Starring:

Bob Geldof

Plot:

The life and descent into madness of fictional
(semi-autobiographical) rock star Pink in the midst of his
physical and social isolation. A visually evocative cult film
based upon the music and visions of Roger Waters and Pink
Floyd. Relationships, drug abuse, sex, childhood, death and
fascism combine in a disturbing mix of episodic live action and
lyrical animation.

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind
on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the
universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the
future of the human race.

A young military recruit goes AWOL after his first taste of
battle. He disguises himself with face paint and women’s
clothing to avoid being captured by his vengeful commanding
officer. He’s taken in by the leader of an eccentric group of
traveling gypsies, who thinks he’s a “rawney”—a half-mad,
half-magical woman who brings good fortune.

Remy is a young rat in Paris who dreams of good food and
becoming a great chef. He visits the restaurant of his dead
cooking idol, where he makes an unusual alliance with Linguini, the
new garbage boy.

After frustrated punk rocker Otto Maddox quits his dead-end
supermarket job, he’s hired to work as an apprentice “repo
man”. In no time, the rookie is caught up in a series of
adventures involving government agents, UFO cultists, hired
thugs, and a lobotomized nuclear scientist, culminating in the
search for an incredibly valuable ’64 Chevy Malibu containing a
secret that can change the course of civilization overnight!

After his parents leave on vacation, Joel cuts loose. Joel
gets in over his head after late-night visit from Lana, a
gorgeous young prostitute. An unauthorised trip in his
father’s Porsche means a sudden need for lots of money, which
he raises in a creative way, with Lana’s help.

The year is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime.
There is only... the Game. In a corporate controlled future,
an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the
world, and its most powerful athlete is out to defy those who
want him out of the game.

Quirky, original, and a lot of fun. The commentary is quite
interesting.

AKA:

Lola Rennt (German title)

Released:

1999

Genre:

drama/thriller/crime/romance

Format:

widescreen/fullscreen

Runtime:

1h21m

Rating:

R/MPAA

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Screenplay:

Tom Tykwer

Starring:

Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup

Plot:

Time is running out for Lola. She’s just received a frantic
phone call from her boyfriend Manni, who’s lost a small fortune
belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn’t replace the
money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe
consequences. She only has one chance. Or does she?

Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novels:
a muscular brute is looking for the person responsible for the
death of his beloved Goldie; a man fed up with Sin City’s
corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands
after a horrible mistake; a cop who risks his life to protect a
girl from a deformed pedophile; and a hitman looking to make a
little cash.

An alien who has crash-landed in the United States takes on the
the appearance of a woman’s dead husband and enlists her help
to escape from pursuing authorities and rendezvous with a
spacecraft on the other side of the country. As he learns how
to be more human the alien begins to take on more and more
qualities of the woman’s husband, drawing the woman closer.

An alternate-(future)-history origin story of James T. Kirk and
his first mission aboard the USS Enterprise. This timeline
reboot is due to a time-travelling vendetta against the
future’s Ambassador Spock by the Romulan Captain Nero.

All 9 episodes of a wonderful short-lived series of folk tales from
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Magical, dark, and beautiful. Some of
these scenes have stuck in my mind since I saw them when they were
first broadcast.

An ex-cop black-market peddler of “clips”—experiences
recorded directly from the cerebral cortex—is having a
bad night when he is confronted with the brutal rape/murder of
a friend. Convinced that his ex-girlfriend is somehow involved
and in danger, he sets out to protect her and solve the murder.
Set in a possible-future Los Angeles on the eve of the
millenium amid racial tension, riots, and general chaos.

Lawrence B. Marcus, adaptation by Richard Rush, based on
the novel by Paul Brodeur

Starring:

Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey

Plot:

Vietnam veteran Cameron is on the run from the police when he
stumbles onto the set of a war movie directed by megalomaniac
Eli Cross. But when the young fugitive is forced to replace a
dead stunt man, he falls in love with the movie’s leading lady
while trying to avoid getting arrested or killed. Is Eli
trying to capture Cameron’s death on film? And what happens to
a paranoid stunt man when illusion and reality change places?

Made for quite a low budget, this one could have been the epitomy of
bad B-movie SF. But some great ideas, including an intelligent
treatment of time travel, and almost non-stop action made it a
classic. It proves that money isn’t everything. This one made Ahnold
famous.

Released:

1984

Genre:

SF/thriller/action

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

1h47m

Rating:

18A

Edition:

“Special Edition”

Features:

double-sided disc, documentaries, extras

Director:

James Cameron

Screenplay:

James Cameron with Gale Anne Hurd, additional dialogue by
William Wisher, acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison

Starring:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield

Plot:

In the year 2029, the ruling super-computer, Skynet, sends an
indestructible cyborg back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah
Connor, before she can fulfill her destiny.

John Carpenter (as “Frank Armitage”); based on a short
story by Ray Nelson

Starring:

Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster

Plot:

A down-on-his-luck construction worker discovers a pair of
special sunglasses through which he is able to see the world as
it really is: people being bombarded with subliminal messages,
and aliens in charge of a massive campaign to keep humans
subdued.

Great soundtrack. “Thief” and “Risky Business” turned me on to
Tangerine Dream, and from there I discovered the world of modern
instrumental music (a.k.a. new age, electronic, and a half dozen other
names).

Released:

1981

Genre:

action/crime/drama/thriller

Format:

widescreen

Runtime:

2h2m

Rating:

R/MPAA

Edition:

“Special Director’s Edition”

Features:

commentary, deleted scenes

Director:

Michael Mann

Screenplay:

Michael Mann, from the novel “The Home Invaders” by Frank
Hohimer

Starring:

James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi,
Robert Prosky

Plot:

A highly skilled jewel thief falls for a woman he meets out on
the town and gets hired by the local godfather to pull a few
heists. In return, the mob arranges a steady flow of cash and
a black-market adoption for Frank and his girlfriend. When he
tries to quit the mob, various bad things happen to illustrate
the point that he can’t quit.

A classic horror/thriller which still holds up very well. “Who Goes
There?”, the classic SF story by John W. Campbell Jr. upon which this
movie was based, is a must-read. This film succeeds in conveying the
cloying paranoia that the story exudes, even though it adds the
effects and gore that modern horror audiences seem to require.

Released:

1982

Genre:

action/horror/SF/thriller

Format:

anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen

Runtime:

1h49m

Rating:

18A

Edition:

2004 “Collector’s Edition”

Features:

commentary, documentary, extras

Director:

John Carpenter

Screenplay:

Bill Lancaster, based on the story “Who Goes There?” by
John W. Campbell Jr.

Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something
extremely important. He’s about to reveal the discovery to his
colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the
old man leaves a letter in his computer-generated virtual
1930’s, filled with seemingly real people with real emotions.
Fuller is murdered in our real world the same night, and Hall
is suspected. Unable to recall what he was doing the night
Fuller was murdered, he enters the virtual world in order to
find the letter, but has to confront the unexpected. The truth
is harsher than he could ever imagine…

Thomas McGuane and Bud Shrake; based on “Life of Tom
Horn, Government Scout and Interpreter, Written by Himself”

Starring:

Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth

Plot:

A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down
rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy
when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the
simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the
ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches
over him and the old west.

A hacker is digitized and abducted into the world of a computer
ruled by the despotic MCP (Master Control Program). He is
forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only
chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.

A shadowy freedom fighter known only as “V” uses terrorist
tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. Upon
rescuing a girl from the secret police, he also finds his best
chance at having an ally.

In an alternate 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder
of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own
sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could
completely change the course of history as we know it.

In south Florida, a high school counselor is accused of rape by
a manipulative rich girl and her trailer trash classmate. The
cop on the case begins to suspect a conspiracy and dives into
an elaborate and devious web of greed and betrayal to find the
truth.

This film chronicles the life of T.S. Garp and his mother,
Jenny. Whilst Garp sees himself as a “serious” writer, Jenny
writes a feminist manifesto at an opportune time, and finds
herself as a magnet for all manner of distressed women.

Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their
respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film
together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense
that they may have more feelings for each other than they
previously thought.